“Oh, I wish I had a river I could sail away on.” If you’ve watched The Politician on Netflix, it’s likely you had Ben Platt’s version of Joni Mitchell’s “River” stuck in your head at some point — maybe you even added his cover to your Spotify playlist. Well, prepare to love the song even more after you check out Adam Rippon’s mesmerizing figure skating routine, which he shared to YouTube on his 30th birthday.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for everything and everyone in my life. Thank you for always sending love and positive energy my way. I hope I’m always able to do the same for you,” Adam wrote on Instagram. “I wanted to do something fun for myself so I asked one of my old skating choreographers, Cindy Stuart, to put this together with me. She is amazing. And Ben Platt is also amazing (duh) and when I heard him do a cover of this song I knew I had to skate to it.”
Adam teamed up with On Ice Perspectives — the same videographer who helped film his beautiful “Shallow” choreography — and released a truly dreamy routine, perfectly on theme with Joni’s wintery lyrics. The Olympic skater announced his retirement from professional skating a year ago, but we’re glad to see he’s still pouring his passion into his personal skates. Watch the full “River” routine above, and feel the powerful emotions Adam expresses through every spin and turn.